Death Touch
by RescueMe
Summary: Rogue is slowly falling into depression because of her powers, but when the professor sends her to bring a new mutant to the mansion, she realizes things could be worse.[Post X2]
1. Dirty Cheat

A/N: I'm really going to try to stick with this one.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

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Chapter 1: Dirty Cheat 

Squeezing the excess water out of her long, white streaked hair, Rogue wrapped a fluffy, pink towel around her lean body and stepped over the threshold from her bathroom to her bedroom. She turned the radio on without thinking and started digging through her dresser. A Sublime song came on, and she turned up the volume and grabbed a hair brush, using it as microphone as she sang along and danced around her room.

Still singing, she dropped her towel and slipped a lacy black thong on. Adding a matching bra, she ignored the nagging voice in the back of her mind that kept saying that no one would ever see it. After a few more minutes of digging through her spectactularly disorganized dresser, she settled on a pair of skin tight jeans and a black, low cut, long sleeved top. She dried her hair and pinned it up in a bun with a pair of chop sticks, leaving the white strands loose around her face. She put some makeup on but kept it subtle, and she wrapped a silky, green scarf around her neck. Once she was happy with her appearance, she pulled on her favorite pair of gloves, the ones that Bobby had given her for their one month anniversary, and stuck her feet into a pair of low stilettos.

Grabbing her purse on her way out, she headed down the hallway to Bobby's dorm. She had been looking forward to their date all day. All the focus lately was on finals and graduation and training, so they got almost no alone time anymore. She practically skipped to Bobby's door. Like usual, she didn't knock and just walked into his room.

"I'm ready to..." her voice trailed off and she stopped dead in her tracks, paralyzed by the sight of one of her best friends and her boyfriend making out on his bed.

Bobby pushed Kitty Pryde away as soon as he heard Rogue's voice. He rushed to get up and started mumbling and stuttering as he tried to find the right words to explain.

Rogue didn't hear anything that he was saying, too busy looking from Bobby's pleading eyes to Kitty's shameful expression to pay attention to anything else. The reality of the situation sank in abruptly, and she felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest.

"How could you?" she whispered. Bobby took a step toward her, his voice growing more hysteric by the second. Not knowing what else to do, Rogue tried to run, but Bobby caught her wrist, touching the small span of bare skin between her sleeve and her glove. Feeling her powers kicking, she frantically tried to pry his fingers off of her wrist. Once she managed to get of his grip, she bolted out of the room without looking back.

* * *

Flipping through the TV channels, Kevin Ford yawned out of boredom. Eight hundred channels and nothing to watch. He got up and went into the kitchen, dusting some crumbs off of his shirt. There wasn't much food in the house but he found a dusty box of maccaroni and cheese behind some cans of cream of broccoli soup. It was probably as old as he was, but he made it anyway. While he waited for his maccaroni, he took a closer look at his shirt, trying to figure out why the crumbs weren't coming off. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the crumbs were actually tiny holes. He didn't think much of it. It was an old shirt, and he was surprised it hadn't fallen apart months ago. 

Fifteen minutes later he was sitting in front of the TV again, eating with one hand and working the remote with the other. Shoveling spoonfuls of cheesy noddles into his mouth, he started to feel like there was something moving against his leg, but when he looked down, he didn't see anything. The feeling didn't go away though, and the next time he looked down at his leg, he saw the rip in the knee of his jeans slowly growing larger. His shirt was deteriorating even faster.

* * *

It had been going on for three months, as far as Rogue could tell from Bobby's memories. He kissed Kitty for the first time while she was away with Logan, looking for Jean's body again. He slept with Kitty for the first time two months later on a night when he canceled a date with Rogue, saying he had an important test to study for. 

She could feel what he felt, comfort, pleasure, barely a tinge of guilt, love, and it was killing her. He was in love with someone else, but he stayed with her because he didn't want to be the insensitive bastard who broke up with the untouchable girl. He opted to be the insensitive bastard who cheated on her instead.

He was knocking on her door, begging to be let in, telling her that he loved her. She wanted to scream at him, slam the door in his face, tell him she hated him, hit him, anything that would inflict some kind of pain on him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. In the back of her mind, she didn't blame him for seeking out the physical comfort that she couldn't give him. The thought of facing him filled her with dread, so, purely on instinct, she went to the window and climbed out, jumping a good three feet with little effort onto a thick branch of a big oak tree. She quickly climbed down to the ground and ran to the garage.

At first she went to the Volkswagen she shared with Kitty and Jubilee, but she wanted to be as far from anything that reminded her of Kitty as physically possible. So she got on Scott's motorcycle and hot-wired it, a handy skill she had inherited from Storm during an accidental touch in the Danger Room a few weeks back. She was out on the road, going 80 in a 35, in a matter of seconds.

* * *

"Kevin, I'm home," Mr. Ford called as he walked in through the front door and dropped his brief case. When his son didn't respond, he got a little worried. "Kevin? Where are you?" He wandered into Kevin's room to find him frantically going through the clothes in his closet. 

Every time Kevin touched an article of clothing, it decayed in his hands, just like the ones he had been wearing. He was beyond freaked by the time his dad walked in.

"Everything keeps falling apart," Kevin whaled, sinking down to the floor. Even the wall he leaned against started to deteriorate. "What's wrong with me?"

"It's okay," Mr. Ford said in a comforting voice, pulling Kevin into a tight hug. "You just need to calm down."

Neither of them realized what was happening, but as their skin touched the same thing that happened to all of Kevin's clothes began to happen to his father. He didn't know something was wrong until the older man collapse, lifeless.

"Dad? Dad, wake up," Kevin said, shaking his dad violently in an attempt to wake him. He was in hysterics again, touching his dad more and more and only making things worse and worse. It wasn't long before it became clear that he was dead, and Kevin broke down completely, tears streaming down his face as he held the body. Once it had turned completely to ash, he ran.

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A/N: Please review. 

For anyone who doesn't read the comics, Kevin isn't an OC.


	2. Unwanted Attention

A/N: Sorry for the long wait and the short update. I promise the next chapter will be longer.

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Chapter 2: Unwanted Attention

The sun was rising by the time Rogue got back to the mansion. She swayed on her feet as she walked in, more than tipsy from a night of drinking made possible by a fake ID from Jubilee and a stolen wallet. She was already starting to feel the beginnings of a hang over, and guilt over hot-wiring, pickpocketing, and fake ID using was creeping up on her. Going straight to her room, she got into bed without even taking her shoes off. She was only asleep for half an hour before the Professor's voice in her head woke her up.

"_Rogue, I need to see you in my office as soon as possible."_

Reluctantly rolling out of her bed, Rogue trudged down to the Professor's office. She yawned loudly when she got to his door and was about to knock when he opened the door for her.

"Please have a seat," he instructed, all business.

Rogue did as she was told. She was waiting for a lecture about her bad behavior was coming, but it never came.

"Cerebro has picked up a mutant who may be in some trouble. I want you to find him and bring him here if need be."

"Okay," Rogue nodded, dreading the thought of doing anything but sleeping.

"His name is Kevin Ford, and he lives with his father in Atlanta. Your plane leaves in three hours. Storm will drive you to the airport when you are ready."

**

* * *

**

"_Flight 161 to Atlanta, Georgia now boarding."_

Rogue marked the page she was on and put her book into her backpack. Trudging to the plane, she kept her eyes on the floor and tried to avoid any unnecessary eye contact. Her clothing had been attracting some attention in the airport. It was almost ninety degrees outside, and, while everyone else was in shorts and t-shirts, she was fully covered in jeans, long sleeves, gloves, a scarf, and a knee length, wool coat. She even had the hood pulled up over her head.

Taking her seat on the plane, she got her book back out before shoving her backpack under the seat in front of her. She had a window seat, but she would have preferred an isle seat.

**

* * *

**

Walking through the park, Kevin attracted the attention of everyone else currently occupying the area. The grass wilted and died in footprint shaped patches where he stepped. Everyone watched him warily, slowly moving away from him. Even the people that didn't notice what he was doing to the grass couldn't miss his clothing, a tarp wrapped up like a toga. It was a more than obvious tip off that something wasn't quite right with the kid.

He kept his eyes on the ground and tried to pretend that no one was watching him. Soon enough he was out of the park and away from the staring, heading down a deserted street to the junk yard.

**

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**

A few hours went by quickly and uneventfully, and Rogue's plane landed in the Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. Pushing through the crowds of people headed somewhere fun for summer vacation, she exited the airport as fast as she possibly could and got into a waiting cab.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"13 Wells Avenue," Rogue told him, double checking the address.

When the cab stopped in a suburban neighborhood, in front of quaint little house that looked exactly like all the others, she paid the fare and went up to the front door. The bare patches in the lawn caught her eye as she approached the house. They almost looked like footprints.

No one answered when she rang the doorbell, so she knocked. The door came open on it's own as her fist connected with it.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Rogue called as she stuck her head in the door. Taking a step inside, she didn't see or hear any signs of a break in, but she also didn't see any of the house's residents. "Your door is open." It didn't make sense. She continued through the house warily.

There was dust all over the sofa in the living room and a large pile of ash in what she assumed was Kevin's bedroom. The ash made her wonder if he had some kind of fire related power. A shiny, metal plaque on the wall in the livingroom caught her eye.

Atlanta Art Contest  
Kevin Ford  
1st Prize

Looking in the garage, she found the floor scattered with scrap metal and several half-finished sculptures. She remembered passing a junk yard during the drive from the airport. Back inside the house, the phone started ringing. After about a minute, the message machine picked up, and Rogue listened in as the caller left a message.

"This is Mark Myers, the art teacher at Frederick Douglass High School," stated the garbled voice that came from the machine. "Kevin hasn't been in school for the past two days, and it's not like him to miss finals. I just wanted make sure he was okay."

The school was the next place where Rogue planned to look for Kevin, but since that location had just been ruled out, she decided to try her luck at the junk yard.

**

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**

The sun was starting to set and the wind was picking up as Kevin climbed the junkyard fence, carefully avoiding the barbed wire at the top. Sitting down on an old, abandoned car, he looked out of the place where he spent so much of his time that it was like a second home to him and felt some comfort for the first time in days. His feeling of comfort was short lived though, cut off by the sound of growling.

"Oh, no," he gasped, looking over his shoulder to see a vicious rottweiler coming his way. He slipped off the car and started backing away from the dog, frantically searching for somewhere that he would be out of its reach. "Good dog . . . I'll just leave now . . . Just stay there."

The dog kept advancing, growling and baring its teeth.

"Stay back!" Kevin screamed as the dog charged toward him, latching its jaws onto his bare arm. Trying in vain to pry the dog off of him, all he could do was watch as it withered away.


	3. Savior

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Most of the dialogue in this chapter is from New Mutants (2nd series) number 3.

Chapter 3: Savior

"I'm tellin' ya, Al," Fred, the owner of the junk yard, insisted. "I heard the dog barking over hear."

"Probably just saw a mouse," Al muttered.

"Nah, it's that kid. He's why I got the dog. Coming down here alla time, stealing my stu . . . " Fred's voice trailed off as his eyes fell upon Kevin who was crouched down on the ground over the dead, withered dog. "What the hell are you doing here, kid?"

"Look at what he did to Pickles."

"I'm sorry," Kevin cried, unable to look away from what was left of Pickles. "I'm sorry. He jumped at me . . . "

"What did you do to my dog?" Fred snarled at him. "What kind of monster are you? You a mutant?"

"Filthy mutant," Al spat, raising the pipe in his hand above his head, ready to strike. Fred stepped closer to Kevin.

"No, don't touch me, or I'll-" Kevin tried to warn them, starting to panic.

"You threatening me?" Fred cut him off just as Al slammed the pipe down onto Kevin's back.

* * *

Rogue walked into the small, run down building that stood in front of the junk yard only to find it empty. Taking a look out the back door, she spotted the thugs that ran the place standing over something that was blocked from her vision. 

"Filthy mutant."

She didn't need to see him to know it was Kevin that they were attacking. One of them brought a pipe down onto Kevin, and Rogue started creep up behind them, pulling her gloves off.

* * *

"Not so tough against people, huh?" Fred kicked the kid in the stomach, the tip of his leather boot connecting with Kevin's bare skin. Fred staggered backward slightly, staring down at his foot. "What the hell? What'd you do to my boot?" He saw Al going for Kevin again. "Don't touch the kid! He _is_ a mutant." 

"Wasn't planning on touching him," Al said, raising the pipe once again. He didn't get a chance to hit Kevin with it before a warm, soft hand closed around his wrist.

Rogue stood motionless behind him latched on tight to both him and Fred, cringing as their thoughts and memories flooded into her mind. She held on just long enough to knock them out and quickly let go. She didn't want any more of them in her head than necessary. When she let go, she looked down to see Kevin staring up at her with wide eyes.

"You're like me," he stated.

"Yeah, I'm a mutant," Rogue told him, speaking without her usual southern drawl. She pulled her glows back on and crouched down near him. He flinched as she came closer to him. Rogue sighed, thinking he was afraid of her because of what she'd done to Fred and Al. She stood up and motioned for him to follow her.

"Come on, let's get you . . . " her voice trailed off as she saw the dog and all the pieces fell into place.

* * *

When they got back to his house, Kevin told Rogue what had happened to his father while she cleaned the cut on his arm. By the time he was done talking, tears were welled up in his eyes and his voice had trailed off. He stared at the floor. 

"My powers manifested when I kissed a boy for the first time," she told him. "He ended up in a coma." Finished with his arm, she got up and went into his room. Kevin followed her and found her going through his closet.

"Not a lot here," Rogue said.

"Yeah, everything was falling apart, so eventually I gave up," Kevin told her.

"I think you need synthetic fiber." She pulled an intact shirt and pair of pants out of the closet and looked at the tags to see what they were made of. Throwing them to him, she watched his face as they didn't disintegrate. "I hope you don't mind polyester. Go put them on."

"Are you gonna take me to the police?" Kevin asked when he was finished getting dressed. "I killed my father."

"It was an accident, but that wouldn't matter to the police. I think we need to keep all this between us mutants."

"Where's your mother?" Rogue asked after a pause.

"She died when I was born," Kevin answered. "Guess there's no place for me."

"Actually, there is. Have you ever heard of the Xavier Institute?"

* * *

The cab pulled up to the gates of The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Kevin still was staring out the window, eyes wide, as Rogue paid the fare and got out. She took his bag out of the trunk before she came around and opened his door. 

"You can get a closer look if you get out of the cab," she teased him, and he finally moved to get out. He stayed silent while she led him toward the front door, taking everything in. The mansion was bigger than anything he'd ever seen before and the grounds seemed to go on forever. The place looked fit for a king.

_Professor, I'm back and Kevin is with me_, Rogue projected as she walked into the mansion, hoping Xavier was listening.

_Thank you Rogue, bring him to the infirmary_, Xavier instructed, and Rogue headed in that direction with Kevin closely following her. As she walked, she telepathically explained what she had found out about Kevin's abilities to Xavier. When they got to the infirmary, they found him waiting with Dr. Reyes, the woman who had taken over for Jean after Alkali lake.

"Hello Kevin, I am Charles Xavier," he introduced himself. "I'm pleased to see that you have chosen to come here."

"It was kind of a no-brainer," Kevin said. "I didn't have anywhere else to go. This place is fantastic, though. It's really big."

"This is our resident physician, Dr. Reyes," Xavier told him, gesturing to the woman next to him. "She is going to give you a brief examination. Hopefully it won't take long, so you may have a chance to explore the mansion and find more to like about it than its impressive size."

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A/N: Anyone who is having issues with things surrounding Kevin's powers just chill out. I'm planning on fully explaining them in the next chapter. And just in case anyone isn't clear on this, Kevin is not my character. He's a character from the New X-men comics named Wither. I'm just integrating him into the movieverse. 


	4. It Could Be Worse

Chapter 4: It Could Be Worse

Dr. Cecilia Reyes gave Kevin an extremely thorough physical, drawling blood, shining lights in his eyes, making him stick his tongue out, hitting him on the knees with a little mallet. She took a look at the bite mark on his arm and dismissed it as barely a flesh wound. Kevin protested, saying he could have rabies, but she ignored him.

She was the perfect person to examine him, since her ability to form a thin force field around herself kept her safe from any accidental contact with his skin. After she was done with him, she left him alone with Rogue while she went to have a look at his blood and talk to Xavier.

"So, how long have you been here?" Kevin asked Rogue, just trying to break the silence.

"About a year," Rogue said. "I like it here, most of the time."

"Are the other kids afraid of you? You know, afraid that you're going to touch them."

"I think they were at first but not anymore. Some people still keep their distance, but I have plenty of friends. Don't worry, you'll fit in fine."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" The question slipped out of Kevin's mouth before he could stop it.

Rogue didn't answer, and an awkward silence ensued. Luckily Xavier and Dr. Reyes returned soon after.

"From what we can determine, your skin breaks down organic material and decays it," Xavier explained. "As Rogue surmised, you should be fine in synthetics."

"We'll try to find you something more fashionable, but these will have to do for now," Dr. Reyes said, handing Kevin a pile of neatly folded clothes. There were a few shirts, a couple pairs of pants, and gloves. They were all black, synthetic, and skin tight, but they didn't disintegrate when he touched them, and that was all that mattered. "It's too bad you didn't live in the 70s."

* * *

Rogue gave him the extended tour of the Institute, lingering in her favorite places and going out of her way to show him the art room. There wasn't an art teacher, but there were a few especial artistic students who had pestered Xavier relentlessly until he agreed to provide them with materials and a space to work on their art. The look on Kevin's face when he saw the art room told her without a doubt that he was going to be spending a lot of time there.

On their way out of the art room, Rogue almost crashed into Kitty. The younger girl's eyes were wide with embarrassment, guilt, and the slightest bit of fear. Struggling to stay void of emotion, Rogue pushed past her and kept going down the next hallway.

"What was that about?" Kevin asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Rogue said more harshly than she meant to. They fell into an awkward silence as she led him to the dormitories. After what seemed like hours, she stopped in front of a steel door. It looked out of place among all the heavy oak doors. "This is your room. It's one of the specialty dormitories the Professor keeps open. All of the furniture plus the walls and floor are made out of metal," she explained as she opened the door and went in. Just as she promised, everything in the room was made of shiny steel. It was pretty grim, at least it was to most people. "It's only temporary. I know it's-"

"It's kinda cool," he cut her off. "I like it."

"Oh, okay." She was surprised, but she'd met people who like weirder things before. "Someone brought up your things already, so I guess I'll leave you to get unpacked."

* * *

Jubilee was in the kitchen, rummaging through the freeze in search of some chocolate ice cream that she knew wasn't there, when Rogue walked in with a blank expression on her face. Feeling a wave of relief at the sight of her best friend, Jubilee abandoned her search and wrapped her arms around Rogue in a comforting embrace. She was the only one other then Logan who didn't worry about Rogue's skin any more then necessary.

"Oh chika, I heard what happened," she said. "I always knew Kitty wasn't as shy and sweet as she acts."

Rogue didn't say anything, just sniffled a little as she tried to blink back tears. When Jubilee finally let her go, she walked over to the freezer and immediately pulled out a carton of chocolate ice cream. Jubilee couldn't believe she found it, but after being momentarily stunned, she reflexively grabbed two spoons and sat down with Rogue.

"Where have you been?" Jubilee asked after a while.

"The Professor sent me to pick up a mutant," Rogue said before shoveling another heaping spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. They sat in silence for a long time before Rogue spoke again. "This ice cream tastes like crap."

"It's low fat," Jubilee told her.

"My life sucks."

* * *

Kevin took a look around his new room and couldn't help thinking about all the things he could make out of the furniture. There wasn't much in the room, just a bed, a night stand, a dresser, a desk, and a door to a tiny bathroom. There was only one window, but it was big and had a good view. It looked out over the lake, and as the sun went down, the bright colors of a pollution enhanced sunset reflected on the water. In an hour or so he would be able to see a bright, white orb shining in it, mirroring the moon.

Pulling off his gloves, Kevin ran his long fingers over the cool metal wall, taking comfort in being able to safely touch something for the first time in twenty-four hours. He opened each drawer in the dresser, not expecting to find anything but wondering if he would. It was empty, so was the drawer in the night stand and the steel cabinets in the bathroom.

He sat down on the double bed and opened the small duffle bag he brought with him. Dumping out the meager contents that Rogue had gathered for him before they left his house, he picked up an old photo of him with his dad, but he dropped it as if it burned him when it started to crumble in his hand. He put his gloves back on.


End file.
